The decision came Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in response to a lawsuit filed by attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia, The Associated Press reported. DuBose said the layoffs caused “irreparable harm” and were likely “arbitrary and capricious.”

A federal judge has ruled that recent mass layoffs at the US Department of Health and Human Services were likely unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to downsize and reorganize the nation’s health workforce.

"The Executive Branch does not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress," Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee,